Richardson City Council Work Session October 16th, 2023
OPENING & COUNCIL GOALS
Six of the seven councilmembers are present as well as City Manager Don Magner and City Secretary Aimee Nemer. Councilman Barrios is absent.
No public speakers are present.
The first discussion item is a review of the 2023 Council Goals. Rick Robinson of Ramsee Consulting presents. These new statements, goals, strategies, and tactics are a result of the unrecorded Council Goals session on Sep. 16th. For reference, here is a link to the current Goals statements adopted in 2021: www.cor.net/government/city-council/council-goals
And, here is a link to the proposed new versions, beginning on slide 5: www.cor.net/home/showpublisheddocument/38679/638330690118913428
Starting with the Role of Council, the apparent changes are removing mention of representing residents and adding that Council are advocates of the city who support staff. I don’t know how much this statement will affect the way Council conducts business, but I don’t like the wording changes. I want more than a voice. I want true representation for residents, not just support for staff’s recommendations.
Next is the Rules of Engagement. The apparent changes here are removing mention of varying expertise. Also, changing evaluating differing ideas to recognizing the potential value of differing ideas. We also see the addition of limiting interruptions and distractions.
Next is the Vision Statement. Not a single change was made to the Vision statement.
I don’t see any significant changes to the Goals either.
All the current strategies remain. Two new strategies are proposed. The new ones are:
Continue to explore unique opportunities to attract and retain residents and all stakeholders
Promote economic development that benefits the whole city
Tactics, which I found to be the highlight of the unrecorded Council Goals Session, aren’t presented. City Manager Don Magner explains that a list of tactics will be presented in November. Council will adopt these goals at the next meeting on Oct. 23rd. Hopefully, the tactics will be included in that agenda packet.
Council offers no comments on this presentation. Mayor Dubey states that Rick has captured everything and said it exactly the way Council said it, to which Council responds with laughter. (JN: In my opinion, these statements mostly match the 2021 adopted goals and Rick’s proposed statements. Maybe that’s the reason for the laughter?)
A whopping seven minutes is spent presenting Council’s goals.
COUNCIL VIRTUAL ATTENDANCE POLICY
The next two items are responsive to proposed tactics expressed by Council. The first is a presentation on a remote meeting policy for Council. Communications Director Greg Sowell presents. Recommendations for a policy include allowing no more than two councilmembers to remotely attend at a time and complying with state law requirements. Councilwoman Justice suggests limiting virtual attendance to no more than three meetings a year for councilmembers. Councilman Dorian agrees. A lot of the discussion revolves around how approval for virtual attendance will be handled. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul asks if the city charter limits the number of absences a councilmember has. City Manager Don Magner answers that there is not.
(JN: Maybe I’m oversimplifying it, but authorization isn’t required now for attending or not attending Council meetings. I don’t really understand why limits are being discussed. This type of policy creates convenience at the least and disability access at the most. How a councilmember decides to attend meetings should be up to them. If a councilmember would otherwise be absent from the meeting, why would we want to force them to be absent instead of utilizing a virtual attendance policy? In my opinion, the policy should be as simple as “Councilmembers may utilize the virtual attendance policy only if they would otherwise be absent.”)
NEW COMMISSION (NAME TBD)
Next is a discussion on the creation of a new board or commission to focus on engaging the diverse population. Communications Director Greg Sowell again presents. Greg provides examples of other cities that have created similar bodies. Plano’s example is an informal body that meets monthly. Their focus is connecting the city with diverse cultural groups. Allen’s advisory board meets quarterly and advises on outreach programs and special events. Concord, MA has a DEI Commission that meets monthly and hosts community discussions on topical issues. Clackamas County, OR has two DEI committees, one for internal employees and one for the community. They meet monthly to examine processes and recommend changes. Dublin, OH also has two advisory committees that meet monthly, one for police and one for community policy. They are responsible for reviewing policies and engaging the community. Arlington, TX has a council that has created a department within the city that is dedicated to DEI initiatives. The department is led by a Chief Equity Officer. This council meets as needed.
Councilman Hutchenrider supports creating a permanent formal body for community outreach. Councilman Dorian agrees with establishing a commission. He thinks their focus should be multicultural special events. Councilman Corcoran supports calling it a Diversity & Inclusion or Community Inclusion Commission with a focus on community outreach. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul suggests a nine-member Council-appointed commission that celebrates the multicultural diversity in the community. Councilwoman Justice suggests letting the members of the commission name themselves and form their mission. Councilman Hutchenrider suggests a collaborative process with the new commissioners and Council to form the name and mission. Mayor Dubey states that the community feels there is a diversity and inclusion void. He notes that the same five people are often called on again and again. He states that, for these reasons, we need a commission that can reach the diverse community that isn’t currently engaged. City Manager Don Magner explains that they will take this feedback and form next steps.
CLOSING
Council discusses a recent Eisemann Center performance, a recent Richardson Community Chorale concert, the Chamber of Commerce State of the District luncheon, the Richardson High School Homecoming parade, an RPD Unidos event, and a Parks Commission meeting. Councilman Hutchenrider encourages community members to contact state legislators to give input on the special session.
The meeting then convenes into executive session to discuss personnel matters and appointments to commissions. Once again, this is where the footage ends.